Sanitary attachment for faucets.



G. E. KELLS, Jn. SANITARY ATTACHMENT FOR FAUCETS.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 16, 1911.

1,020,207. Patented Mar. 12, 1912.

bra/M 5? CGLUIII, PWIAFM CO, VIASNING'NN. D- C- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES EDMUND KELLS, JR., OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

SANITARY ATTACHMENT FOR FAUCETS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES EDMUND KELLs, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing in New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sanitary Attachments for Faucets, of which the following is a specification.

Ordinarily faucets are so arranged that they may extend into an ordinary drinking glass and thus when a public glass or drinking cup has been used a number of times there is a liability of the discharge end of the faucet being contaminated by germs. Such faucets may likewise be contaminated by the hands of users who sometimes in the absence of a suitable cup, glass or other such receptacle, place the hand over the mouth of the faucet and drink from the hand or from the faucet directly. This is, of course, unsanitary and repulsive. To overcome these objections to ordinary faucets, I provide a shield for the mouth or discharge end of the faucet which is so constructed and arranged that a glass or other receptacle cannot be put close to the faucets mouth and the hand or lips of the user cannot be used to drink from in the manner above explained. The shield is preferably made frustum shape, its upper end being of relatively small diameter and this end is secured in some suitable way to the discharge end of the faucet. The lower edge of the shield, which is of relatively large diameter, is preferably serratedor scalloped and just above the edge I preferably form a series of holes. In this way water from the glass is prevented from backing up into the shield and coming in contact with the faucet. If the shield were not provided with serrations or holes and were lowered to such an extent in the glass that its lower edge came in contact with the inside of the glass it would form such a seal that if the glass were over-filled the Water, instead of flowing out over the edge of the glass, would rise in the shield and come in contact with the mouth of the faucet.

In the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 is a View partly in elevation and partly in section showing my improved sanitary shield applied to the faucet of a water cooler. Fig. 2 is a similar View of a modification.

In Fig. 1 A indicates a part of a water cooler; B a faucet of ordinary construction; O my improved shield; and D a drinking Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 16, 1911.

Patented Mar. 12, 1912. Serial No. 654,795.

glass. The shield C is preferably made of paper or some such inexpensive material but may be made of other material. It is by preference frustum shaped and has a cylindrical neck 0 which may be secured to the discharge and of the faucet by a slip ring E. At its lower edge a: the shield may be serrated or scalloped and preferably a series of holes :2 is formed around the shield a short distance above its lower edge.

Tn the modification shown in Fig. 2 the shield is formed at its upper end with an inwardly projecting Ilange a and the faucet carries a coupling F to which the shield is attached by means of a nut G screwing onto the threaded lower portion of the coupling and bearing against a washer r which in turn bears against the flange of the shield and presses it firmly against the shoulder f of the coupling. The devices for attaching the shield to the faucet shown in Fig. 2 are somewhat more secure than those shown in Fig. 1. It would be practically impossible to detach the shield from the faucet without the use of a tool to remove the nut, it being understood that the coupling F is firmly secured to the faucet in any suitable way. The slip ring R shown in Fig. 1 may, however, be made to tightly grasp the collar of the shield so that the shield could not be detached by the ordinary user without tearing it.

I do not limit my invention to the particular way shown of attaching the shield to the faucet, nor to the material of which the shield is made, but I prefer to employ paper as this is inexpensive, permitting of the shield being frequently renewed, and further as it will easily collapse or get out of shape, it cannot be conveniently used to drink from, either by being forcibly detached from the faucet or by the hand of the user being applied to its lower end which, it will be observed is of larger diameter than the mouth of the faucet. The holes y may be arranged at any desired elevation so that should the shield be lowered so far in the glass that its lower edge would come in contact with the interior of the glass there would be no danger of the water rising in the shield as the water would flow out through the openings formed in the shield.

I claim as my invention:

1. A sanitary shield adapted to be attached to the mouth of a faucet and to surround the water flowing therefrom and provided with openings above its extreme lower edge to prevent water from rising to the top of the shield should the lower edge of the shield be brought into contact with the interior of a drinking vessel.

2. The combination with a faucet of a frustum shaped shield made of flexible material and which projects below the mouth of the faucet and is provided with openings above its extreme lower edge, and clamping 10 devices attached to the faucet and firmly engaging the upper end of the shield. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

CHARLES EDMUND KELLS, J R. Witnesses:

CHAS. J. Rlvn'r, J. OGDEN PIERsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

